MŁYN MARIA

The characteristic post-war appearance of the Mills, with the linking section just above the water and the logo, has created a spatial memory of the place which we decided to preserve. We added a cosy green square in the form of an embankment hiding the garage and serving as an open public space. The existing window openings have been enlarged, making the original outline visible while varying the degree of transparency of the new glazing. The difference between the new and the historic is still clear. The building takes on a different form depending on the amount of light and temperature, which may seem more dynamic because of the mobile façades.

 

WITOLDA 3840

Witolda 3840 is an example of how to reclaim a place for the city and enter into a dialogue with its pre-war, post-German fabric. Because of the increasingly vibrant urban life along the Oder, we decided to create a metropolitan boulevard in keeping with the existing development in the area, thus revitalising and activating the waterfront. The new pavilion with flats and restaurants increases the functional attractiveness of the area while formally reducing the height of the second line of development, making the front more accessible from the side of the river. The stylistic simplicity of the building reflects our intention to be unobtrusively present in this historic site.

 

WŁADYSŁAW IV’s, GDYNIA

GRAU’S GARDENS

 

The revitalisation of the neo-Gothic building was another attempt to restore the old fabric of the city. The dominant character of the historic palace is emphasised by the austere style of the new residential part and the limited, moderate landscaping. Old trees in the rehabilitated park have been given priority and thoroughly cared for, while the muted colours highlight the historical context. The buildings simultaneously constitute a frame for the park complex and provide a setting for Gdańska Street, thus striking a balance between the open character of the plot and the scale of the surrounding quarter development.

ALEJA DĘBOWA 17

Embedded in the chaotic fabric of this part of the city, the building was primarily intended to clearly separate the most important components of the newly constructed service complex. The simple form, classical divisions and muted colours bind the whole together, while the limited means of expression, repetition and modularity convey information about the functional programme. All this has been done so as not to divert attention away from the new spatial relationships and allow local residents to become familiar with them. Time will tell whether a bustling piece of the city can be created in the vastness of this mono-functional residential district.

 

WITOLDA 43

After changes to the local plan, the time came for an act of radical design. Closing off the block with a wall-stage for urban activities, we rather dramatically dissected the body of the building in search of a better distribution of the masses. The homogeneous façade, perforated by alternating portcullis openings and black-lined loggia recesses, is topped by an openwork of roof pergolas. A terrace overlooking the river and the urban skyline, freely accessible to all residents, enhances the uniqueness of the location, while the ground floor with commercial premises provides a base for the much-anticipated city-making functions.

K3 QUARTER

The consciously reductionist approach to this quarter was an attempt to find a formula for affordable housing with the best possible urban parameters. The building was designed as two modules on a common garage slab. The distribution of the flats made it possible to create an inner courtyard, partly connected with the ground level by a gentle slope. The semi-private space created in this way was enriched with greenery and recreational functions. The entire area is separated from the road by a pergola with bicycle racks, utility boxes and a service module, which makes the concept homogenous and complete. Simple balconies lend a tectonic effect to the blocks.

KURKOWA 14

We were yet again faced with the task of designing onto urban fabric that once existed here. Two blocks were separated by an extension of Dubois Street. The first one was given the form of a solid residential block with floors shifted with respect to each other, which visually conceals the actual mass of the building. The other one is a coherent urban complement with an internal pedestrian street. They share a single entrance gate and courtyard raised to the +1 level, with a reinforced concrete terrace overhanging the river. All this to achieve clear spatial zoning with perimeter development. This project is about contemporary urban density.

HOUSE IN RĘKÓW

At the edge of a village there was a partially converted barn. We studied with fascination the unplanned morphology of the many outbuildings building a new, post-war identity. We decided to follow this lead and explore the subsequent layers and shapes. What emerged in the end was a polypore functioning in symbiosis with the semi-wild landscape. The colour of the natural shingle, which patinates rather quickly, blended with the weathered clinker brick to create a new relationship. In this way, we attempted to overwrite the typology of the charming Lower Silesian countryside.

THESPIAN

The design had to overcome a number of problems typical of Wrocław in order to architecturally clean up this fragment of the city. We focused on sewing together the junctions of two areas of genotypically different development and, respecting the geometry of the square, signalled a new opening along the city’s most important thoroughfare. In an attempt to compose a contemporary tenement, we accentuated the ground floor with a distinct entrance zone while terracing the building’s finial, making a reference to the circuit of cornices and ridges around the square. The double façade eliminates the nuisance of the busy street while enabling excellent contact with the greenery and the vibrant city, which is almost within arm’s reach.